Colonel Robert Gould Shaw’s Missing Civil War Sword Found

Colonel Robert Gould Shaw’s Missing Civil War Sword Found
By Louisa Moller, WBZ-TV
July 12, 2017 11:55 PM

Click here for original story

Click here for more on Shaw and the 54th Massuchusetts

BOSTON (CBS) – The long lost sword of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the commanding officer of the North’s first all-black regiment during the Civil War, has been acquired by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Shaw led the 54th Massachusetts Infantry into battle at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, in 1863. He was killed on the battlefield and his body was robbed of the sword.

The sword was recovered in 1865 and returned to Shaw’s parents. But it disappeared again until it was recently discovered in a North Shore family attic by Mary Minturn Wood and her brother, descendants of Shaw’s sister, Susanna.

“I said, uh oh. There are three initials on it: RGS. And he went, oh, this is the sword,” Wood said.

The family decided to gift the sword to the Massachusetts Historical Society where it is now in the hands of curator, Anne Bentley.

“It’s just a magnificent specimen of a sword and it’s exactly what a colonel would carry in a war,” Bentley said.

For Bentley, the sword represents more than a weapon of war. It signifies the bravery of an African American regiment.

“What they did is they proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they were as courageous and honorable and steadfast as any white regiment,” Bentley said.

The sword will be on display to the public at the Massachusetts Historical Society on July 18th.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/07/12/robert-gould-shaw-civil-war-sword-found/

Paoli Battlefield Advocates Seek National Landmark Status

{While not Civil War, this nearby Revolutionary War Battlefield is of local significance.}

The following appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on July 10:

Advocates shoot for moon in fight to make Paoli Battlefield national landmark
 

JULY 10, 2017
by Michaelle Bond, Staff Writer   mbond@phillynews.com

Supporters have uncovered fresh evidence to buttress their case for making the Main Line site of a Revolutionary War battle a national landmark, but ironically, a major victory they won two decades ago might have slowed progress.

To spare the land from bulldozers, in 1999 the Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund purchased the 40-acre tract, where British forces killed at least 53 Americans and wounded more than 150 in 1777, and secured a place on the National Register of Historic Places as a site of “local” significance.

With development pressures building, pursuing that designation saved valuable time as opposed to the more-prolonged process of proving “national” significance. “We were up against the gun,” Bruce Knapp, the fund’s president, said.

But after advocates applied two years ago to make the battlefield a National Historic Landmark, they found they had to overcome the federal government’s skepticism about so knighting Paoli when two decades before supporters had argued for its “local” importance. To make the elite list of the nation’s roughly 2,500 landmark sites, the government has to deem a property significant to all Americans, such as Washington’s Headquarters in Valley Forge National Historical Park.

Making the battlefield a landmark would be significant for raising grant money and local tourism.

Knapp compared his group’s efforts to jump from the register’s local designation to landmark status as akin to launching a space mission to Mars without first trying to land on the moon.

So his group has decided to shoot for the moon. It now is seeking a spot on the register’s list of nationally significant places, using some of a nearly $60,000 grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program. Earning a place on the register’s “national” list of more than 8,000 sites likely would make designation as a national landmark an easier sell. Knapp’s group already would have completed most of the necessary work.

Because of the additional research his group has commissioned, historians have found hundreds of references in the 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s to the Paoli Massacre and the battle cry that followed: “Remember Paoli!”

“The United States has a unique tradition of following this template of ‘Remember Paoli,’ ” Knapp said, mentioning similarly formatted battle cries in the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, and the world wars.

When the fund members submitted their application to a landmark committee in March 2015, they had dreamed that the U.S. Department of the Interior would name Paoli Battlefield a landmark before the April opening of Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, thus luring history buffs visiting the area.

But Knapp and his associates are a patient bunch. He said they are “amazed and pleased” with the amount of new information they have uncovered in the last several years. He said his group won’t stop until Paoli Battlefield achieves national historic landmark status.

“It’s part of what this site deserves,” he said. “We’ll keep digging up stuff.”

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/paoli-battlefield-national-landmark-revolutionary-war-20170710.html?mobi=true

H.L.Hunley: More Clues Found

More human remains, clues found in Civil War submarine's conservation
Andreas Preuss and Phil Gast, CNN • Updated 9th June 2017
     Click here for link to CNN News story

https://hunley.org/

     (CNN) — More clues of the H.L. Hunley mystery are being revealed during conservation of the American Civil War submarine.
     On Wednesday, researchers in a North Charleston, South Carolina, laboratory unveiled the crew compartment -- which had been sealed by more than a century of ocean exposure and encrusted sediment.
     "It's that 'wow' moment when you step back and realize what you're doing," Johanna Rivera, one of the conservators, told CNN affiliate WCIV-TV in Charleston.
     The Confederate Navy's Hunley was the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, sending the USS Housatonic to the ocean floor in February 1864. Five members of the Union vessel died; 150 others were rescued. But the Hunley also went down, with all eight crew members perishing.
     Conservation work is being done on the H.L. Hunley in a North Charleston, South Carolina, lab.
     The conservation work, which started after the Hunley was raised in 2000, has finally exposed the sub's entire crankshaft -- used to propel the vessel by hand.
     A tooth was found embedded in sediment on one of the crank handles. Officials said it wound up there "postmortem" after decomposition of one of the crew members.
     Inside, they also found remnants of textiles and a thin metal wrap around the hand crank -- showing how the crew operated the sub.
     "When you're turning an iron bar in front of you, or below you, you're going to need something to keep your hands from chafing or rubbing them raw," archaeologist Michael Scafuri told WCIV.
     The new findings give insight into how the submarine was operated, but the biggest mystery is still unsolved -- why did it sink after its successful, bold attack? An archaeological report issued earlier this year laid out six possible scenarios; a combination of factors may have doomed the innovative submarine.
     Since 2000, scientists, historians and a genealogist have studied the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel. The H.L. Hunley did just that more than 150 years ago, on February 17, 1864, during the American Civil War.
     One scenario holds that the Hunley was swamped by or struck by a Union vessel. Or that it plunged to the seafloor to avoid detection and never made it back up. A latch on the forward conning tower was found to be ajar.
     The Hunley's "torpedo" was attached to a spar. The crew embedded it in the Housatonic's hull, and the charge was detonated. It's possible the sub's hull was breached by the explosion or the men were rendered unconscious at some point.
     Nearly all of the human remains were found where the men were at their stations, rather than jammed together at an escape hatch. The remains were buried in 2004.
     Work on the Hunley will continue for at least another five to seven years.
     Conservators have concentrated on painstakingly removing the sediment -- or concretion -- that was firmly attached to the Hunley's exterior and cramped interior.
     After the process is finished, the submarine will be moved to a museum for display, though details have not been worked out.

Gettysburg Casino Proposal

NO CASINO  GETTYSBURG

June 14 was the last day for David LeVan to apply to the PA Horse Racing Commission, and that afternoon he announced: 
“I’ve decided against submitting an application. Unfortunately, the uncertainty surrounding the gaming expansion legislation in Harrisburg makes it impossible for me to commit to this project at this time.
… But I remain hopeful for our county's future.”

The Gaming legislation he cites is HB 271, passed by the House and in committee in the PA Senate now. LeVan says he is withdrawing because that law may change the current racino license to a stand-alone casino. If another license becomes available it is likely LeVan will apply for it.
We must remain vigilant!

At the Freedom Township Supervisors meeting last night the Supervisors approved the Referendum, and that will be on the November 7 Ballot.The Freedom residents decided they want to go ahead to forever prevent a racino, and demonstrate how strongly they disagree with any casino. 

The Referendum is allowed by the 2nd Class Township Code. The citizens who wanted it had to meet 2 criteria and they met both. The township No Casino residents are represented by attorney Susan Smith. Her legal opinion of the referendum question is at https://www.nocasinogettysburg.org/assets/Opinion_Letter_Racetrack_final.pdf  To meet the criteria for the referendum, the proposed racetrack needed to be within 50 AIR MILES of the center of Penn National Race Track in Grantville, PA. The surveyors found it is exactly 49.55 air miles! Here is the map done by surveyors. https://www.nocasinogettysburg.org/assets/Final_No_Casino_Gettysburg_Survey_Maps.pdf

The referendum question requires a YES answer.
It asks, in complex language,
Shall horse races run by corporations be prohibited in Freedom Township? The answer we want is YES!
The vote is Tuesday Nov. 7, 2017. 

No Casino Gettysburg and the residents of Freedom Township are glad that Mr. LeVan has realized that he would have lost the upcoming referendum. If he believes he can apply for another casino license in Freedom Township or anywhere within 10 miles of the Gettysburg National Military Park, he underestimates the local, state and national opposition.  Ouronline petition has reached 9,400 signatures, and will be used when or if LeVan submits another proposal.
He has never received a single vote from the Pa Gaming Control Board in 12 years of trying. Our hope is that he will give up completely on this bad idea.

Thank you for fighting for Freedom Township and for supporting No Casino Gettysburg!

No Casino Gettysburg
e-mail: ncgettysburg@centurylink.net

Preservation project at Gettysburg’s Eternal Light Peace Memorial

Preservation project at Gettysburg’s Eternal Light Peace Memorial begins today

 Gettysburg, Pa. (September 5, 2016) – Beginning today, September 6, the Eternal Light Peace Memorial at Gettysburg National Military Park will close for a months-long preservation project. National Park Service preservation experts from the Historic Preservation Training Center will dismantle and reset all plaza stones, granite capping stones, stairs, and flagstone walkways; selective repointing of the memorial shaft; and cleaning of all masonry on the monument and its bronze urn.

 During the majority of the work, the gas flame will continue to burn, with some planned outages.

 Park visitors may continue to park at the Peace Light but the area immediately surrounding the memorial will be closed through the rest of 2016.

 The memorial was dedicated in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 75th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg.  For more information please contact 717/ 334-1124, or visit www.nps.gov/gett.  

 Gettysburg National Military Park is a unit of the National Park Service that preserves and protects the resources associated with the Battle of Gettysburg and the Soldiers' National Cemetery, and provides an understanding of the events that occurred there within the context of American history. 

Gettysburg Cemetery Ridge rehabilitation

Gettysburg NMP

The rehab of Cemetery Ridge will begin July 11 -

NPS announces detours, temporary parking and cemetery access

The parking area and sidewalks for the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg National Military Park along Taneytown Road will close on July 11 for up to six months for a construction project, National Park Service officials have announced. To accommodate national cemetery visitors during the project, a number of detours and temporary access points have been established.

 Parking - Temporary grass and gravel parking lots for the National Cemetery will be designated on the east side of Taneytown Road, across from the existing lot, and at the intersection of Taneytown Road and Hunt Avenue.

 Pedestrian Access - Because of sidewalk closures on the west side of Taneytown Road, pedestrian access to the national cemetery will be through a new gate through the stone wall on the south side of the cemetery, directly accessible from the temporary parking area.  All existing cemetery gates will remain open during cemetery hours. Pedestrians using the trail from the park Museum and Visitor Center will be rerouted onto a new temporary grass trail on the east side of Taneytown Road.   

 Handicapped accessibility - Visitors with mobility impairments may obtain special permission from Park Rangers in the Museum and Visitor Center to drive into the Soldiers’ National Cemetery.

 Auto Tour Route - Cars following the Gettysburg National Military Park’s auto tour route will be directed from Hancock Avenue to Steinwehr Avenue to Taneytown Road to the temporary parking lot for the cemetery (Auto Tour stop 16).  Buses, RVs and large vehicles will follow detour signs on a special route via Steinwehr Avenue to Queen Street, to Fairview Avenue, to Gettys Street, to Washington Street, to Taneytown Road to the Hunt Avenue temporary parking area.  These large vehicles must take special care when parking at Hunt Avenue due to wet areas on the left and right side of the entrance.

 Local traffic detour - Local traffic that uses this area for access between Taneytown Road and Steinwehr Avenue will be redirected to the intersection of Taneytown Road and Steinwehr Avenue or Wheatfield Road.

 Freedom transit – The Gold Line shuttle’s cemetery stop will be relocated to the temporary parking lot.

Bicycle traffic – Bicyclists, including users of the Gettysburg Inner Loop bike trail, will stay on Steinwehr Avenue to the intersection with Taneytown Road and proceed to the bike racks inside the Taneytown Road entrance to the cemetery.

 Project background – This $1.5 million dollar project will rehabilitate Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg National Military Park, bringing back missing features on the historic landscape at the center of the Union Army’s battle line and reduce the size of a parking area at Ziegler’s Grove.  The nonprofit Gettysburg Foundation provided a grant of $900,000 to match National Park Service funding of $600,000.  Special funding from the National Park Service was made available as a National Park Service Centennial initiative. 

 Details about the project are available on “From the Fields of Gettysburg,” the official blog of Gettysburg National Military Park, (click here) or go to:  https://npsgnmp.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/gettysburg-details-rehabbing-cemetery-ridge/.

BETHLEHEM MOVING AHEAD WITH REPAIR OF CIVIL WAR MONUMENT

An award-winning preservation company has been hired to restore Bethlehem's Civil War Monument, though the city is still soliciting contributions to pay for the work.

City Council recently voted unanimously to authorize the administration to enter into a contract with Conservation Solutions Inc., Washington, D.C., to make the needed repairs to the statue honoring Capt. Jonathan K. Taylor. The cost of repairs is estimated at $20,000.

The 129-year-old statue was removed from Bethlehem's Rose Garden a year ago because it had begun to lean backward and city Parks Department officials feared that it might topple.

Conservation Solutions has a world of experience in preservation, having won awards for its work in restoring the D.C. War Memorial in Washington; Cleopatra's Needle, an Egyptian obelisk located in New York's Central Park; and the exterior of the New York Public Library.

Capt. Taylor was a Bethlehem resident who fought with Company C of the 129th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, in the Civil War. He was gravely wounded when he was shot through the lung during the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia on Dec. 13, 1862.

He died more than three months later on March 28, 1863, and was buried in God's Acre, the Central Moravian Church cemetery on West Market Street between Main and North New streets.

Cast of 99.3 percent zinc by the Monumental Bronze Co. of Bridgeport, Conn., the statue was shipped in pieces by train to Bethlehem before its dedication on Oct. 11, 1887. The ceremony was preceded by one of the largest parades in the city's history, including more than 3,000 Civil War veterans, numerous regional civic societies, 18 brass bands and then Pennsylvania Gov. James A. Beaver.

Initially erected on West Market Street, next to the cemetery where Capt. Taylor was buried, the statue was moved to the Rose Garden in 1967 when city officials became concerned about vehicular traffic downtown.

In 1994, when the city did a $40,000 facelift of the monument, it was given an appraised value of $250,000.

As it turns out, the statue was one of more than 100 Civil War era monuments cast from the same mold. The statues were commonly known as "The American Soldier." But the base of these monuments are prone to failure under the weight of the soldiers atop.

Taylor's statue began to lean, prompting city officials to remove it from the Rose Garden last year.

The Civil War Roundtable of Eastern Pennsylvania, a local group that has done conservation work in Gettysburg and in more nearby places, contributed $2,000 to the project, but the city continues to solicit contributions.

Donations, which are tax deductible, can be sent to City of Bethlehem, Department of Parks & Public Property, 10 E. Church St., Bethlehem, PA 18018.

Daryl Nerl is a freelance writer.

Note: we are working with City officials and hope to announce plans to hold a rededication ceremony for the Monument in the Fall.

GETTYSBURG BRUSH CUTTING 2016

Gettysburg Brush Cutting Report

 The day dawned with drizzle, but as our thirty-nine intrepid volunteers arrived at the Leister Farm/Meade’s Headquarters site on April 23 the rain stopped and the weather just kept improving. In only 2 and ½ hours we dismantled historically inaccurate fencing on the west side of the Taneytown Road from Meade’s Headquarters all the way to the Hummelbaugh Barn. We trimmed brush away from the stone wall on which that fence was placed for the entire length of that fence line. We also trimmed another hundred yards or so of brush away from an east-west stone and rail fence line. On the east side of the Road we replaced portions of the fence. It was a daunting endeavor and I would have been happy had we completed the task in 3 ½ hours if at all. Park Service Supervisory Facility Operations Specialist Randall Hill stated that we did a wonderful job!

Give the following Round Table troopers a pat on the back and maybe an adult beverage when you next see them; Paul Bartlett, Chuck Cannon, Mike Cavanaugh, Jim Duffy, Jeff Heller, Kim Jacobs, Dick Jacoby, Tony Major, Bob McHugh, Ed Oechsle, Sam Parker and Dr. Gerry Sherwin,

In addition to our members, John Duffy brought 14 scouts from Troop 89 in New Tripoli and Bob McHugh brought 5 Saucon Valley High School students to swell our ranks. Members of the Weaver, Root and Schenkel families rounded out our platoon of workers.

After a short break we headed in bright sunlight to the Cannon Restoration facility on Seminary Ridge where Lucas Flickinger gave us an informative tour. We came away with an enhanced appreciation for the ongoing never ending maintenance and restoration work that the folks at Gettysburg National Park do every day. We really appreciate his taking time from his weekend to give our volunteers a special treat.

Special thanks go to Dick Jacoby who coordinated the fence crews, Bob McHugh who brought ice water to keep us all going, Mike Cavanaugh for traffic duty and Tony Major and Jeff Heller, aka Mathew Brady for making a photographic record of the day.

In addition to helping Gettysburg National Park tell the story of this historic event the most gratifying part of the day was the inclusion of 18 young people in our number. Some folks today are dismissive of our young as lazy with no interest in our common past. We are happy to report that the torch of historic preservation is being passed to some exceptional young people.

Sincerely,

Ed Root.

Karl Lehr: A legacy of honor, commitment, and generosity

Long time Civil War Round Table of Eastern Pennsylvania member Karl passed away at the age of 93 on February 19, 2009. Karl led a full and distinguished life. Born in Allentown, he was a 1936 graduate of Muhlenberg College. During World War II, Karl held the rank of Technical Sergeant and was a part of history during three major invasions. As a member of the First Signal Detachment on the USS Ancon, flagship for the landing at Omaha Beach, he was at Normandy on June 6, 1944. He had also taken part in the earlier landings at Sicily and Salerno, Italy in 1943. Karl later became Sergeant of the Eiffel Tower Guard and was a staff member of the U.S. Army University in England. Post-war he was a Fulbright teacher in Cologne, Germany in 1957-58 and his teaching career in New Jersey and Illinois spanned 42 years.

Karl joined the Civil War Round Table of Eastern Pennsylvania about 30 years ago. He immediately became an active member serving on numerous committees. He was also a field trip co-chair and submitted items to our newsletter. Karl was generous in many ways including his time and knowledge. He spoke to our group on the subject of “From Pea Ridge to Atlanta” and became part of a Resource Committee of members who volunteered to speak to outside groups or share knowledge with those who needed assistance in a quest for information. He served on our Board of Directors and as such helped form our Preservation and Restoration Committee in 1983. Round Table records show Karl’s commitment to historic preservation through signed petitions to save the Grove Farm at Antietam and monetary donations to various organizations as threats to our historic sites became known.

Karl may have left us, but his legacy of honor, commitment and generosity remains. His financial legacy to the Civil War Round Table of Eastern Pennsylvania is the amazing amount of $123,955.31! The Board of Directors and the Preservation and Restoration Committee, led by Jack Minnich, determined to honor Karl in the best possible way and that is to further the cause of historic preservation. Consequently, we have added to Karl’s legacy for a total of $128,000.

That money will be distributed by the Round Table in Karl’s name to the following organizations:

Central Virginia Battlefield Trust
$53,000 to help save 93 acres on the Wilderness Battlefield.

Richmond Battlefield Association
$53,000 to help save 13 acres at Fussell’s Mill and 4 acres at Malvern Hill.

Civil War Preservation Trust
$22,000 to help save 10 acres at Manassas.

These three organizations have a proven track record in successful historic preservation as well as the efficient use of donations. In many cases they have entered into cooperative agreements. They are not competitors, but kindred souls serving a common cause. One result of their success is the ability to obtain matching grants. Because of those matching grants, Karl’s gift to the Round Table has grown to $463,000!!!! We can think of no better way to remember and honor Karl Lehr than to preserve and protect the historic legacy of our nation for future generations.

The Civil War Round Table of Eastern Pennsylvania, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed in 1978 dedicated to serving the broad community’s education needs concerning the American Civil War and to historic site preservation. Since its inception and prior to Mr. Lehr’s gift, over $120,000 (not including matching funds) has been raised to support numerous preservation and restoration projects. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in the Civil War. Our membership of over 175 consists of students, scholars and “just people” interested in learning more about the Civil War. Dinner meetings are held monthly from September through June in Allentown, PA. and include a speaker on various topics of interest to Civil War/American history enthusiasts.
For more information, contact Jeff Gates at (610) 966-5773 or by email